ENJOYABLE PARK RIDE WITH MY WIFE

I don’t necessarily bike for exercise. Apart from the exercise that I do naturally gain when cycling, I mainly ride a bike because I love the outdoors, the smells, the scenery, and yes, even some of the populace. I need to emphasize “some,” for many of them obviously delight in being overly aggressive when in their motorized cocoons. I could easily solve that issue by installing a 50 caliber on my bike’s handle bar, right next to my Garmin Edge 500. Maybe the Garmin could register the hits and misses!

This morning’s ride was one of those rides where I truly enjoyed being in the great outdoors. Seeing as though my lovely wife rode along with me from start to finish, I will rate today’s ride a 10 out of a possible 10, even though most of the ride was accomplished by riding around in circles until 20 miles showed up on our Garmin devices.

Starting out with the temp right around 82F, and never going above 85 degrees, the weather was on our side this morning. A very slight breeze made it ever more pleasant.

Part of our riding discussion was focused on future bike rides that we have planned in the central portion of our beautiful state, all three of them – plus – we discussed extending our training rides to other parts of our county, like outside the confines of the park and onto some of the safer roads. 

The park’s geese, I’m sure, would miss us.

RIDE STATS:

My 52^nd cycling day-in-a-row

Distance: 20.56 miles

Moving Time: 01:46:16

Average/Max Speed: 11.6/16.8mph

Average/Max HR: 95/109

Elevation Gain: 70 feet (Must be the speed bumps)

Calories Burned: 405

http://app.strava.com/activities/15670571

OVER 51 MILES ON DAY 51

Two Geese heading for the lake

After consuming 144 ounces of fluid from start to finish, one coffee and one everything bagel with cream cheese at Einstein’s Bagel Shoppe, one protein bar while sitting on a park bench, I managed to ride my bike 85 kilometers/52.8 miles in temps averaging 91.3F. Had I packed additional sunscreen, I would have continued on for another 15 kilometers, making it a metric century.

The first 3 ½ miles was at a 10 mph pace riding around the mall parking lot. My wife did not run this morning, so I got to keep all of my water. The next 27 miles, I rode with Ed, Tom and Sandy at a moderately comfortable pace, a pace that I would safely say was a recovery pace after yesterday’s exhausting pedal-fest with the bike club.

Where I ate my protein bar

This morning’s ride was a training ride in preparation for Tour of Sebring’s back to back metrics that takes place in South Central Florida four weeks and five days from now. We will also have an option of riding 100 miles the second day instead of a metric - plus a 34 miler the third day. I cannot imagine riding double what I did today in temps that promise to be higher than what I faced today – with countless rolling hills. It’ll be a starting line decision.

RIDE STATS:

51^st Cycling day-in-a-row

Distance: 52.8 miles/84.94 kilometers

Moving Time: 04:01:47

Average/Max Speed: 13.1 mph/22.3 mph

Average/Max HR: 113/139

Elevation Gain: 203 feet

Calories Burned: 3042

Average Temperature: 91.3 degrees

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/159115419

EXPERIENCED/ADVANCED BIKE RIDE

Not wanting to ride with the club’s intermediate group nor the advanced plus group this morning, Sandy S put together an outstanding peloton consisting of 5 men and 2 women. I was one of the men!

About the only downside of this morning’s ride was the intense heat that could melt hardened rock into flowing lava – and melt cyclists into brain-fried zombies. I was one of those zombies!

During most of the ride, we rode at the experienced/advanced pace – 16 to 20 mph.

Out of concern for my safety, my wife convinced me not to ride my bike to the meet-up spot and then back home after the ride, just to accumulate 50 miles on my 50^th cycling day-in-a-row. I’m darn glad she talked me out of it, if for no other reason, the ruthless heat, which I believe was near 90 degrees with a real feel of 99 degrees. I am so blessed to have a caring wife!!

RIDE STATS:

Distance: 33.37 miles/53.70 kilometers

Moving Time: 02:02:04

Average/Max Speed: 16.4/21.7 mph

Average Max HR: 127/153 bpm

Elevation Gain: 187 feet

Calories Burned: 2129

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/158564225

SBW EXPERIENCED BIKE RIDE

To celebrate my 49^th cycling day-in-a-row, I cycled nearly 60 kilometers this morning with our cycling club, The South Broward Wheelers.

Heading out with the experience group at 7:30 a.m. sharp, we took Nob Hill Road northward as far as Nob Hill Road goes, which is just south of the Palm Beach County line.

We then headed east and then south a smidgen, ending up in a shopping center that included a Publix Food Market. Publix was our mid-ride rest stop where everyone had a chance to reload their bottles and unload their bladder, not necessarily in that order.

On the way back to the barn, we sort of wriggled and waggled around some back roads and neighborhoods simply to add additional mileage to our morning ride. I rode on roads that I’ve never ridden on before.

At one point, I did not have a clue what city we were riding through. In South Florida, there is no countryside or open space separating one city from another. They sort of all run together making up one huge metropolitan area with millions of multi-national inhabitants.

With 12 riders strong, 7 men and 5 ladies, I feel that we had the perfect number of cyclists for a smooth-running peloton. Had we had additional riders when riding through most of those cities, we more than likely would have had stragglers and large gaps to deal with.

I’m looking forward to my 50^th cycling day-in-a row tomorrow morning with the same club, only tomorrow we will begin the ride from a different location. I sure wish the club was scheduled for a 50-miler tomorrow.

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/809583

BIKE RIDE WITH ACROBATICS

The weather was absolutely perfect for my 48^th day-in-a-row cycling. With the exception of maybe the first half hour of our 5-man group ride, which began right around 8 o’clock in the morning, we were met by temps as high as 89 degrees that reportedly had a real feel of 96 degrees. I believe the report. It was really steamy out there, folks. 

The sky was 100% clear and the wind was coming from the east at 3 mph. Hey, on the plus side, we at least had very little wind.

Shortly after being my wife's shining-knight-in-armor, road biker escort during her 4-mile training run, I rode with Ed, Gary, Tom and Sandy through the South Florida cities of Pembroke Pines, Davie, Weston, Cooper City, and Southwest Ranches.

We sort of changed our route somewhat today out of pure boredom with our usual course. Sandy S and I talked about making up an entirely new route that would include a specialty pancake house as our mid-ride stopover place. I’m excited and hungry just thinking about it. There’s nothing like carbo-loading with hot flapjacks smothered with your syrup of choice.

About four miles before our return to the barn, Sandy, Tom and I chose to cut across some grass to avoid having to lift a monstrous chain over our heads and then ducking ourselves and our bikes underneath. The huge, thick chain is put in place to prevent motorcars from entering the church’s parking lot from the residential area.

Sandy, Tom and I made it through the grassy area just fine. We’ve done it a couple times in the past. But when Gary attempted the shortcut, he ended up doing a one-and-a-half forward summersault over the handlebar of his bike.

Not spotting the large stump that was sticking up about a foot above the grass, smack dab in the middle of the narrow path, his bike stopped instantly, throwing Gary over his handle bar onto the soft grass.

I gave Gary a 3 only because his legs were spread out too far and his toes were not pointed. Other than those two flaws, he did a perfect forward one-and-a-half summersault. Tom was more generous by giving him a 4 1/2. Tom and I used the current Olympic grading system.

We may be a bunch of crazy retirees, but we do have fun. 

Gary, by the way, is fine. He stood up, smiled, brushed himself off and then got back on the saddle. He thought he deserved at least a 5 for his unplanned acrobatics.

Yesterday was sort of a bummer of a day, so I only had a chance to ride 5-miles on the gym’s stationary recumbent bike. 

Ride via Garmin Connect and Strava:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/203621404

http://app.strava.com/activities/14902469

HOT RIDE, ONE MISHAP, DELICIOUS BREAKFAST

The average Temperature during my 46^th day-in-a-row cycling was 89 degrees with very few clouds. The heat index was nearly 100 degrees! Any way you look at it, it was hot as hades in the sub-tropics during this morning’s bike ride.

I have to believe that riding in temps like that elevates your heart rate well above what it normally would be had we ridden in cooler temps. The first thing I did after arriving home was stand underneath an air-conditioning vent for a good five minutes – and chug-a-lug tons of ice-cold water. That is, after first kissing and hugging my amazing wife.

One of our riding amigos has a possible medical issue at the young age of 83 (Yesterday was his birthday), so one of us always stays behind with him when riding to the coffee shop. Today was my day to lag behind the others to watch over our senior rider.

To add miles to our standard ride, we headed west from the coffee shop. The meet-up place is located 12.5 miles southeast of the coffee shop

After riding along the Town of Weston’s relatively safe bike lanes, we rode through the Southwest Ranches, a city in itself that advertises itself to be one of the last vestiges of country living in the South Florida area. 

I love riding through the ranches because of its lack of vehicular traffic, not to mention the feeling of being out in the countryside away from the tribulations of big cities.

One mishap happened today when one relatively new member of our group paid little to no attention when Sandy S came to a stop at an intersection that was full of motorcars. At the time of the accident, Sandy was leading our group.

After mildly slamming into the back of Sandy’s rear tire, the biker went down with a bang, harming mainly his pride but not his body. Sandy managed to keep his bike upright.

We have noticed in the past how this one particular rider becomes oblivious of the riders in front of him. He’s either staring at the ground or staring out in space. This morning he claimed that he was looking at the cars and not the cyclist in front of him. We need to speak with this gentleman about bicycle safety.

Anyway, just prior to our group reaching the end of the line, I veered right into the county park for more miles and smiles. With only six miles to go to reach my goal of 40, I circled the park twice and then headed directly east to our home, where my loving wife was waiting with open arms and a delicious breakfast to die for.

My wife had put in five running miles earlier this morning, with me riding alongside her toting all of the Gatorade. She was tired as well, so we both showered and then hit the sack for a nap before doing our dailymile.com duties – hence the late posting.

I’m ready for another ride…

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/203001237

http://app.strava.com/activities/14527801

PARK RIDE WITH WIFE

I would like to have gone 45-miles on my 45^th day-in-a-row cycling, but recording 36 cycling miles with my remarkable wife in the park was far better than doing 45 miles by my lonesome.

Starting off just fifteen minutes after the morning sun made its appearance in the eastern sky, we shoved off from our gated community with no distance goal in mind. I was thinking somewhere around 30 miles, but didn’t want to convey my imagined goal to my already tired wife. I planned on seeing how it went after the first few times around the park’s circular road.

I kept the pace relatively slow the entire ride, mostly because my wife was feeling below par. I believe most of her problem was that she failed to eat prior to the ride. Waking at 6:20 a.m. and then shoving off on a bike at 7:00 a.m. isn’t exactly conducive for an energetic ride. I was up at 4:30 a.m., did some computing, had two cups of coffee, ate a large cherry turnover and then downed a large glass of (Florida) orange juice. I was ready to ride!

Anyway, my wife did just fine, plus she set a new distance PR in the process. I’m very proud and pleased with her cycling development as well as her running accomplishments.

My wife is one in a million, and I’m delighted that she said “YES” 27 years ago.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/202636747

http://app.strava.com/activities/14341444

MEDICAL APPOINTMENT AND RAIN GETS IN WAY OF BIKE RIDE

Hospital and Fitness Center in Background

As lame as two miles is, I at least recorded some mileage this afternoon to keep the streak alive and well.

Today was my 44^th day cycling, with most of the mileage recorded on the road bike and a smattering amount on the gym’s stationary bike.

This morning’s planned bike ride was washed out by a long line of rain showers coming up from the Caribbean. Midday was way too hot and sunny, so I had planned on at least ten miles on the stationary bike after a follow-up medical appointment located in the hospital’s complex. Our fitness and rehab center is connected with the hospital.

Anyway, like most medical appointments, waiting for an empty room is typical, and that was certainly the case today – eliminating any possibility of a longer bike ride.

Tomorrow is another day, so the wife and I have scheduled a medium-distance bike ride in the park beginning early tomorrow morning. The weather forecast is for clear skies.

BICYCLING CODE OF CONDUCT

Chivalry is not dead, at least in my world it isn’t.

After riding this morning with 13 other cyclists at a sensible pace (16 to 17 mph) for the first 27 miles, stopping once at mile-marker 17 to replenish whatever everyone carried in their individual water bottles, one member of our peloton bonked big time right as we entered onto St. Rd. 84 at Glades Rd. She smacked into that despicable wall seemingly without any telltale signs.

In endurance sports such as cycling and running, Hitting the Wall, or The Bonk, describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by sudden fatigue and loss of energy.

As the other riders continued on, again at a sensible pace, I remained with the dog-tired rider to insure that she made it back to home base safe and sound. It was the only right thing to do. Leaving a young lady to fight that head wind (15 to 20 mph) all by her lonesome, on a busy highway where cars speed by at speeds in excess of 50 mph, would have been cruel and downright rude. My mother raised me better than that.

The other riders were aware that I was lagging behind with her, so it was okay in my book that they continued on at the pelotons normal speed.

Anyway, we chugged along on the right side of the highway for the last six miles at speeds of 10 mph or less, finally reaching the starting/ending point with wide smiles on our faces. The poor lady was beyond exhausted. I was ready for another 33 miles!

The young lady concluded that the reason for hitting the wall was that she failed to take in fluids and/or carbohydrates during our one rest stop. She learned a valuable lesson!

My lady friend appreciated the kindly escort, and so did her extremely grateful husband. He rode today as well, but with the faster advanced group.

Even with the escort segment, I thoroughly enjoyed today’s bike ride. We had a total of fourteen enthusiastic cyclists pedal their fancy road bikes along the clean, manicured streets of Weston and Bonaventure. If I may say so myself, we were an awesome looking bunch!

For the most part, the fast-moving grey clouds covered the sky during most of the 33-mile ride, which was a blessing in itself. There’s nothing that makes a ride more comfortable than having a huge umbrella of clouds shield you from the sun.

Well, maybe one other thing is better. No wind!

One minute after re-racking my bike on the back of my Ford Explorer at the conclusion of today's ride, it began raining. I call that perfect timing!

RIDE STATS:

Distance: 33.00 miles

Moving Time: 02:32:36

Average/Max Speed: 13.0 mph/19.4 mph

Average/Max HR: 112/141

Calories Burned: 1340

Elevation Gain: 122 feet

My 43^rd cycling-day-in-a-row

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/201888706

http://app.strava.com/activities/14135730

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/155336817

EASY DAY IN THE SADDLE AND ON THE ROAD

The heat and humidity has been absolutely brutal these past few days in South Florida, plus today is my 42^nd day-in-a-row cycling and working out in some manner. That being the case, it was imperative that I held off on today’s workout, keeping the stationary cycling to a minimum and simply doing a maintenance work-out on the resistance machines.

On top of cycling for 3.3 miles on the stationary bike, and then working out on most of the weight machines, my wife and I leisurely walked 5 kilometers around our neighborhood. During most of our walk, the clouds shielded us from the morning sun. It only became uncomfortably hot during the last kilometer, at which time the westerly moving clouds no longer shielded us from the sun’s rays.

All in all, a nice workout made even nicer because my wife was with me.

Walk via Garmin Fit (Android)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/201435318

BIKE RIDE, SLOW, FAST AND HOT

With a total elevation gain of 309 feet during this morning’s bike ride, it's now safe to call me “Mountain Man.”

To begin with, the first nine miles of today’s bike ride was spent escorting my wife while she ran around the parking lot of our neighborhood shopping mall. We left our home at 6 a.m. when it was still dark, so an escort by hubby was imperative. Plus, she likes me to carry her beverages on my bike so that she doesn’t have to wear one of those cumbersome belts that hold bottles.

I believe my average riding pace during the escorting was something like 5 mph, which accounts for my overall lame moving pace of 9.9 mph. I’m just a wee bit better and faster than what those numbers indicate. Just a wee bit!

Anyway, we did the usual coffee shop thing and then three of us, Tom, Sandy and I, took a different route towards home. The other three cyclists merely backtracked via our original route.

Lunatics that we are, we wanted to suffer even more in this relentless heat and humidity by riding up Vista View’s 8% gradient hill as training for Labor Day weekend’s Tour de Sebring – which has countless rolling hills.

After conquering the hill three or four times, we then headed home via Griffin Road and Flamingo Drive, both 45 mph roads with heavy vehicular traffic and good-quality bike lanes.

Nice ride with good people on what was my 41^st cycling day in a row.

Oh, I forgot. I set personal records on two of my Strava segments. See, I told y’all I was a wee bit better than those 9.9 mph stats.

http://app.strava.com/activities/13930398

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/201179784

WALK, BIKE AND LIFT

Once inside the fitness center, I did six weight machines, pedaled five-miles on the indoor recumbent bike, and then did six more weight machines before heading home.

Also, because I’m considering signing up for a January 5K running/walking event in Walt Disney World, I wanted to see if I could still maintain a 16-minute walk pace for at least 2 miles. Disney World requires all runners and walkers to maintain at least a 16-minute pace otherwise they may pull you off the course. Cruel, but true!

Anyhow, I had no difficulty this morning walking that distance while maintaining the required pace. And I didn’t even push it! Considering that I have a slightly torn ACL in my left knee, plus spinal stenosis, I am well pleased that this old body can still function well enough to participate in some type of athletic event in Disney World.

So, Mickey and Minnie, it looks like I’ll be visiting you January of 2013. I hear that you both will be on the course. And please don’t forget, because my lady and I have season passes, I’ll also see you in the theme parks.

Bye for now…

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/200874968

HUMID BIKE RIDE IN THE TROPICS

The real bike ride began shortly after I rode alongside my charming wife for four-miles while she did a training run/walk.

After meeting up with the guys and one gal, and then after exiting the meet-up area onto Hiatus Road in beautiful Pembroke Pines, FL, we headed north until right after Sheridan Street, at which time we turned left and then rode our bikes through much of the lovely Rock Creek residential area.

Crossing Flamingo Road from Orange Drive is always tricky, but the six of us managed to safely weave our way through and around all vehicles on the busy six-lane thoroughfare.

Next was the horse trail that led us alongside a long man-made canal that separates the narrow asphalt trail from upscale homes. We know it’s a horse trail by the piles of left-behind evidence.

After riding through more residential areas, we then crossed Interstate 75 by way of the only bridge and elevation gain on today’s route. Busy Weston Road looms big as soon as soon as you cross the 4 degree gradient bridge.

Riding along Weston Road amongst the many speeding cars calls for nerves of steel, of which we have little - but we succeeded despite our inefficiency at the game of Frogger.

Finally, by the grace of God, we reached our ultimate destination, the infamous coffee/bagel shop where a diverse populace gathers for their morning caffeine fix.

We then rode back uneventfully to the starting point more or less in reverse.

It was an enjoyable, half-overcast day in the humid sub-tropics of South Florida, USA.

RIDE STATS:

39^TH day-in-a-row cycling

Distance: 30.5 miles

Moving Time: 02:27:29

Average/Max Speed: 12.2mph/23.7mph

Calories Burned: 803

Elevation Gain: 104 feet

Average/Max HR: 115/157

http://app.strava.com/activities/13743684

TUESDAY’S WORKOUT

My plan to bike outdoors was again thwarted by a vicious line of thunder storms coming in from the southeast. The rain wasn’t my main concern, though. My chief concern was the lightning strikes that accompanied the incoming, ominous-looking dark clouds.

So in the place of outdoor cycling, once again I straddled the fitness center’s Stairmaster recumbent bike – the one that was directly underneath the fast-moving ceiling fan.  I love those ceiling fans!

To say that cycling on that contraption today was boring would be a gross understatement. With the gym being nearly empty of humanoids, all I could do was stare out the large plate glass windows at the swaying palm trees and multiple raindrops hitting the surface of the lake.

Regularly full of ducks, the lake, too, was void of wildlife. That may sound like I'm comparing wildlife with humans, but I'm not!  Or am I?  Come to think about it, based on the morning, noon and evening news, wildlife may be a fitting description for humans.

Anyway, for my 38^th cycling day-in-a-row, I managed 15.01 miles on the stationary recumbent bike using the method of one fast mile and then one slower recovery mile – resulting in an overall snail pace of 15 mph – and that included pushing the last two minutes at 20 mph.

I sure do hope I can get outdoors tomorrow morning for a REAL ride.

Earlier today, my wife and I walked 2.24 miles at a moderate pace – plus – we worked out on most of the gym’s upper-body and lower-body resistance machines. It was a beautiful morning for a walk and the gym wasn’t too crowded.  Very productive day!

Ride via Android Fit:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/200314052

PARK RIDE WITH MY WIFE AND A FRIEND

Weather-wise, I don’t think we could have asked for a better, more comfortable day for a bike ride. With the average temperature right around 80 degrees, and the sky covered with high altitude clouds, this morning’s bike ride was done in ideal weather conditions. And as a bonus of sorts, the reported wind from the east was negligible.

After circling the park for maybe six or seven miles, I received a call on my smart-phone from one of my cycling amigos. He told me that no one showed for the Monday morning mall and coffee shop ride, so I invited him to the park to ride with my wife and me.

After arriving in the park just minutes after the phone call, Rey, my wife and I then rode around in circles, or so it seemed, for a considerable amount of miles until my Garmin Edge 500 GPS indicated that my wife and I had reached our goal of a half-metric century, or 50 kilometers. That was our cue to leave the park and then ride home, after first thanking our friend for joining us on what ended up being a very vigorous, satisfying bike ride.

This morning’s ride was fun! It was also my 37^th day-in-a-row cycling. On top of that, It was an ideal way to zap that Monday morning, dailymile.com zero.

RIDE STATS:

Distance: 52 kilometers/32.02 miles

Moving Time: 02:42:30

Average/Max Speed: 11.8mph/17.1mph

Calories Burned: 1193

Elevation Gain: 111 feet

Average/Max HR: 101/126

37^th Day-In-A-Row Cycling

http://www.dailymile.com/

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199897066

http://app.strava.com/activities/13557314

DROPPING OUT OF METRIC CENTURY

No metric century ride for me today.

In a span of 36 hours, the three cyclists that I was planning on riding with during this morning’s 62-mile 

Frank Stark A1A ride dropped out for various reasons.

Rider number one was admitted into the hospital Friday afternoon with what may be a serious illness.

Rider number two tweaked her back yesterday morning while helping someone move furniture.

Rider number three, the brother of rider number one, is staying by his sister’s side as he should be.

Rider number four, me, refuses to ride that far while one of his best friends lies in a hospital bed with so many  anxieties.

Today indoor ride wasn't anywhere near the ride that I had planned on.  But given the circumstances, the stationary recumbent had to suffice.

RIDE STATS:
Distance:  10 miles
Time:  00:41:29
Average/Max HR:  91/111
Calories Burned:  369

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199465213

STATIONARY RECUMBENT

With a metric century on my immediate agenda, like tomorrow morning beginning at 7 AM, I couldn’t see any sense in going outdoors this morning for a bike ride of any distance. 

That being as it is, my wife and I walked to our fitness center this morning, which is a whopping ¾ of a mile from our front door, and then did some weights and a stationary bike. She continued with the weight machines while I logged a short ride of only five-miles at what could be comparable to a snail’s pace.

And much to my surprise, the gym goers had some of the ceiling fans whirling away. I’m not joking! One of them was directly overhead from my stationary recumbent. It was sweltering and windy outdoors, but quite pleasant on that indoor recumbent.

Tomorrow’s metric century, by the way, will be along A1A in beautiful Palm Beach County. Tomorrow’s forecast is for strong winds from the east (ocean), scattered showers, and hot, hot, hot temps. No problem, that’s what I train in.

Friday the 13th Bike Ride

This morning’s half metric-century ride was a mixed bag of very slow riding, intermediate-pace riding with four other cyclists, and fast surges with my riding partner, Sandy S. 

I rode the first four miles at a 5.5 mph pace escorting my wife while she ran and the last three miles at a 9.0 pace riding around our gated community in order to reach the distance of 50 kilometers - hence the slow overall pace of 11.1 mph.

This morning's ride was basically devoid of excitement.  But maybe that’s a good thing, seeing as though today is Friday the 13^th. There were no alligator sightings, no tiny dinosaurs crossing our paths, and no pitch-fork toting Jason hiding behind his hockey mask.

Nice overall ride on my 34^th consecutive day in the saddle. (I sound like an old cow-poke during the Wild West era.)

RIDE STATS:

Distance: 31.31 miles

Riding Time: 02:49:31

Overall/Max Speed: 11.1 mph/22.7mph

Overall/Max HR: 110/158

Calories Burned: 1052

Elevation Gain: 151

http://app.strava.com/activities/13273581

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/198750387

SOLO BIKE RIDE IN COUNTY PARK

1985 Ross All-Steel Road Bike

One of my favorite things to do as a retiree is to ride my bike in the county park that is located ½ mile from our home, while appreciatively taking in all the tropical scenery and wild-life. I love to listen to the rush-hour traffic and emergency sirens outside the border of the park, grateful that I’m no longer a part of the chaos. I also enjoy stopping occasionally to take pictures with my smart phone. That, my friends, is exactly what I did this morning.

Starting out just prior to when the sun made its grand appearance, I rode my old purple, back-up road bike along Johnson Street on the sidewalk, giving praise for my good health and the fact that I’m able to ride, walk and live in such beautiful surroundings. No one on this strikingly gorgeous earth should live any less than I, but sadly that just isn’t the case.

Typical Park Scene

My remarkable wife didn’t come along on this ride only because of her work schedule. I missed her perpetual smile, her witty comments and her occasional pull when riding around the park’s main 1.65 mile circular road. LOL

Just before zig zagging along all of the park’s roads and walking trails, I ran into one of our cycling friends, a female biker that can ride circles around me and most other male bikers. She was waiting for her usual Tuesday and Thursday morning riding partner.

After wishing her a buenos dias (She is Spanish), and after chatting for a minute or two, I left the parking area for my first of 33+ miles.

Two Angry Territorial Geese

Stopping me in my tracks at one point was two territorial Geese that seemed determined to protect what they thought was their terrain, the walking/riding trail. I used their determined stand as a photo op, quickly snapping three pictures and then high-tailing it out of there before they got really annoyed. One thing I’ve learned from previous runs and rides in the park is that you don’t want to PO the geese.

With an average temperature of 81 degrees with overcasts skies, the weather was perfect. Hardly a hint of breeze was felt while cycling on the narrow roadways and even narrower riding/walking trails.

No darting dinosaurs running across my path today – only bushy-tailed grey squirrels.  Oh, and the geese!

All in all, it was a peaceful day in the park.

RIDE STATS:

Distance: 33.5 miles

Riding Time: 02:50:09

Average Speed: 11.8 mph

Average/Max HR: 106/135

Calories Burned: 1,198

Elevation Gain: 210 feet

Consecutive Days Cycling: 33

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/198437735

http://app.strava.com/activities/13185729

DAY TWO ON THE RECUMBENT

When you wake in the morning and hear distant thunder, that’s a reliable hint not to air-up your bike’s tires. Such was the case this morning when all the guys and me sensibly cancelled our Wednesday coffee-shop ride.

In our much-anticipated ride’s place, again I had to drive to the fitness center and straddle that abominable stationary recumbent-bike. The indoor contraption wouldn’t be so bad if the gym goers were not so obstinate about keeping the ceiling fans off. WTF!

When outdoors on my road bike, I generate my own wind. When inside the gym, I have to depend on the fans. If the fans are off, all of my body heat stays within my body’s boundaries, making me a very unhappy, over-heated camper – hence the short ride of only eight-miles.

After finishing my ride and then jumping off the Stairmaster recumbent, I did a few resistance machines out of frustration. Hey, if I can’t ride, I may as well get buffed – like that’ll ever happen. LOL

My next exercise is to cook myself a breakfast consisting of two eggs, toaster waffles with walnuts, blueberries and maple syrup, turkey bacon and a large glass of Florida orange juice. After I feed the cats, that is!

Y’all have a wonderful day!

RIDE STATS

Distance: 8 (hot) miles

Time: 00:30:19

Average Pace: 15.8 mph

Average HR: 98 (I wore the chest strap)

32^nd consecutive day riding

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/198107222

INDOOR RECUMBENT BIKE

Oil and water does not mix and neither do rush-hour traffic, rain, wet roads and road cycling.

Given that I’m entirely into good health and longevity, I chose to cancel my evening outdoor bike ride for a much safer indoor recumbent stationary bike ride. And please believe me when I tell you that I unequivocally despise indoor training, especially in a crowed gym when all of the ceiling fans are turned off.

Hopefully, the rain will spare our planned ride tomorrow morning.

                   RIDE STATS

                   Distance: 10 miles

                   Time: 00:39:01

                   Average Pace: 15.4 mph

                   Average Heart Rate: Didn’t wear the chest strap

                   Calories Burned: 451

                   Elevation Gain: 2 feet when I finally lifted my butt off the machine

MONDAY COFFEE-SHOP BIKE RIDE

Let’s hear it for my 30^th day-in-a-row on the road bike. Hip, hip, hooray.

Starting out on my bike ride this morning, while riding alongside my wife while she ran, the total number of “Animal” miles totaled five. Animal miles, so I’ve been told, are miles driven to and from the ride, not the actual miles during the group/solo ride. Animal miles significantly bring down your overall riding pace.

Because this morning’s ride was my 30^th in a row, rationality told me that I had to do at least 30 miles – and that is exactly what we did by extending our usual coffee shop ride to areas in Weston and Southwest Ranches, with my cycling buddy, Sandy S, doing most of the pulling. Out of total embarrassment, and symphony for Sandy, I volunteered to pull the final mile or two. What a guy!

There were five of us riding today, all retirees that love the sport of cycling. We also love to chat up a storm over coffee, bagels or whatever kind of goodie comes out of our jerseys back pockets.

We had one incident during today’s bike ride. One of our group members, the chap that was in the lead when the five of us biked through a skinny gate with room enough for only one person, stopped instantly as soon as he cleared the gate – causing the rear biker to crash into the person that was in front of him, sending that rear biker to the ground. Luckily, he fell in the grass alongside the asphalt trail. His injuries were minor.

The weather this morning, although on the warm side, was close to being perfect for a bike ride. The 3 to 5 mph easterly wind was hardly a factor, as were the ominous looking clouds coming straight at us from the east. The dark clouds, however, never did dump any rain on us. Their initial threat turned out to be a Godsend, shading our bodies from the bright sun the last mile or so.

RIDE STATS:

Distance: 32.43 miles

Time: 02:43:33

Average Pace: 12 mph

Average/Max Heart-Rate: 103/144

Calories Burned: 682

Elevation Gain: 131 feet

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/197464402

http://app.strava.com/activities/12929769

SUNDAY CLUB BIKE RIDE

This morning’s cycling-club bike ride was my 29^th day-in-a-row biking, and boy was it a hot one. Complaining, I’m not! I’m simply conveying what others are grumbling about. I recall hearing similar grievances about the weather during the winter months when it was chilly and windy. Kind of reminds me of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”

After parting from the group at mile 27, knowing that they were ending their day’s ride at 28 miles, I continued eastbound along St. Rd. 84 until a turn-a-round was necessary. I then rode along the south side of the canal keeping a watchful eye for man-eating alligators and those small darting dinosaurs. I saw neither, but I know the suckers were eye-balling me. I could feel the stares!

I then entered Markham Park from the newly built biking lane. After taking less than a one-minute break underneath a large oak tree, I circled the park once and then did some hill training on a road that has four small hills with inclines just short of 5 degrees. The smallish hills didn’t take much of an effort, but they’re about all we have down here in the flat swampland of South Florida.

After ending my ride at the diner’s parking lot, I ran into Sandy S. He, too, was ending his morning ride – but his was more miles and took more effort. He rode with the advanced group while I rode with the intermediate group.

I like to think that my ride this morning was a recovery ride from yesterday’s recovery ride from the previous day’s recovery ride… Well, you get the picture, I hope.

RIDE STATS:

Distance: 35.43

Time:  02:29:39

Average Speed:  14.2 mph

Average/Max Heart-Rate:  111/150

Calories Burned:  751

Elevation Gain:  91 feet

http://app.strava.com/activities/12820557

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/197025331

CLUB EXPERIENCED BIKE RIDE

This morning’s bike ride was my 28^th day-in-a-row on a bike. That’s four full weeks of getting up in the morning and then hopping on my road bikes for a morning ride. I love it!

Having a couple of options this morning, I chose to ride with our cycling club’s experienced group, which maintains speeds between 16-18+ mph. There are lots of nice people in this group, all leaning towards safety rather than extreme speeds.

We had what I consider a perfect number of riders this morning – 10 bikes and 11 riders. You guessed it; one bike was a tandem recumbent.

The club ride itself was exactly 30 miles at an average pace of 16 mph. However, instead of putting my bike on a car rack to get to the meet-up place, I rode my bike 6 additional miles on sidewalks at a measly pace of 7 mph, which drops my overall pace to 14.7. No big deal. I’m just sayin’.

RIDE STATS INCLUDING SIDEWALK:

Distance: 35.47 miles or 57.08 kilometers

Time: 02:25:09

Overall Pace: 14.7 mph or 23.66 k/h

Calories Burned: 823

Average Heart-Rate: 117

Elevation Gain: 68 feet

87 degrees, felt like 95 degrees

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/196592192

http://app.strava.com/activities/12714969

FRIDAY ESCORT AND COFFEE SHOP RIDE

Other than the high temps and off the chart humidity, the weather cooperated with my 27^th day-in-a-row bike ride. Even the territorial crows failed to strafe my bike helmet as the five of us passed underneath their squatters-rights tree.

Adding a few miles to this morning’s ride, Sandy S. and I needlessly went on a search and rescue mission. Thinking that one of our biking amigos was in trouble well behind us, we doubled back 2 to 3 miles in search of someone that unknowingly passed us while we were riding and chatting about the Tour de France and biking in general.

He was nowhere to be found, so we then U-turned and headed for the coffee shop after two futile attempts to call him on his cell phone.

After spotting his bike leaning against the store-front wall when we approached the midway point, the infamous coffee & bagel shop, we wondered, “How is it possible that a fellow biker could pass us without our knowledge?” But he did! Oh well, serves us right for chatting while cycling.

The ride itself was good, with periods of fast riding and phases of moderately slow riding. We maintained a good mixture of fast and slow!

I believe I set a personal best on the westbound South Post I-75 bridge incline segment. I never dropped below 17.4 mph and my heart rate never went above 147 during the ascent. My previous best was 16 mph.

Oh, the first four miles of this morning’s ride was at a 6 mph pace. Like I’ve happily done many times in the past, I rode alongside my marathon-running wife while she did a training run/walk. Four miles at 6 mph will surely bring down your overall average speed!  Marital bonding, however, is more important than any bicycling pace. 

RIDE STATS:

Distance: 32.00 miles

Time: 02:39:01

Average Speed: 12.1 mph

Calories burned: 637 (debatable)

Average Heart Rate: 106

Elevation Gain: 110 feet

http://app.strava.com/activities/12641463

PARK RIDE WITH THE DINOSAURS

For my 26^th day in a row on the bike, I circled the county park eight times with my lovely wife, briefly stopping three times for water or Gatorade.

If anyone has seen Jurassic Park, the 1993 dinosaur movie, you may recall those tiny dinosaurs that would devour someone in the same manner that piranhas would, one small bite at a time. Well, we had two of them, or something very similar, run across our path when biking along the water. I was ready to unclip and bring my legs up near the handle bar as they darted across the narrow, asphalt walking path. They are actually very cute, but they did bring to mind the epic science fiction adventure thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg.

Anyway, other than the darting dinos, and the fact that we did a lot of climbing on this ride, 29 feet, this morning’s park ride was typical of most park rides, ride around in circles until you reach your mileage goal. Today’s goal was 21 miles. We pedaled for 21.32 miles. Mission accomplished!

It’s now time for breakfast!!

Ride Stats:

Miles: 21.32

Time: 01:45:02

Average Speed: 12.2 mph

Calories Burned: 349

Average Heart Rate: 98

Elevation Gain: 29

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/195972546

http://app.strava.com/activities/12551661

Independence Day Bike Ride

Considering that my first four miles was done at a 6 mph pace while riding alongside my wife as she did a training run, I was well pleased with my 25^th daily bike ride in a row.

The average temperature was 86 degrees, but man was it ever humid. The heat index was just below 100 degrees. A slight rain shower just prior to our ride made for damp roads and even more humidity.

We had a rather small group today, only three of us, as several of our biking amigos had holiday plans or rode with larger groups supported by individual biking clubs. I chose to ride with the mall guys mainly because riding with them gave me a chance to be with my wife during her training prior to our 8 a.m. pedals up. Ride with a large biking group or ride alongside my wife? No contest - I’ll choose riding alongside my pretty lady any day.

The town of Weston, which is where we stop for coffee, sponsored an Independence Day 5K earlier this morning – hence a lot of runners and walkers crowding the coffee and bagel shop. Every one of them looked to be a sweaty mess with a broad smile. Intense, satisfying exercise does that to you.

Ride Stats:

Distance: 28.00 miles

Time: 02:18:42

Average Speed: 12.1 mph

Average Heart Rate: 111

Calories Burned: 714

Average Temperature: 86 degrees

Elevation Gain: 121 feet

http://app.strava.com/activities/12456897

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/195663900

COUNTY PARK RECOVERY RIDE

This morning’s bike ride was a squiggly wiggly type of ride in the county park with my favorite cyclist, my awesome wife and Daily Mile’s, Janet J.

We rode our road bikes on both the walking paths and the main roads throughout most of the park. In no hurry this morning, we kept our pace way down – stopping four times for water and one time for a photo op. How could we possibly do a ride without snapping a couple pictures with the smart phone!

Concerned for a cyclist that was stopped alongside the road, we stopped to insure that she was okay. As soon as her leg stopped cramping, she and her male companion continued on their cheery way. She thanked us for stopping! He appeared to be grumpy pants.

24th cycling day in a row!

Today’s Stats:

Distance: 20.7 miles

Time: 01:50:09

Calories Burned: 331

Elevation Gain: 75 feet

Average Speed: 11.3 mph

Average Heart Rate: 93

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/195314290

http://app.strava.com/activities/12367012

MONDAY COFFEE SHOP RIDE

After riding around the shopping mall for 5.41 miles, riding alongside my wife while she ran, I met up with four of my cycling buddies at our usual meet-up spot.

Other than Sandy S and I pulling away from the group on the way to the coffee shop, beating them to the coffee shop by eleven minutes, there’s not a whole lot I can say about this morning’s routine ride. It was rather warm out, but that comes with living in the sub-tropics.

This was my 23^rd day in a row cycling. I’ve set a tentative goal of 60 days, the approximate amount of days that it would take me to bike across the United States of America - considering my current cycling ability.

Note:  One of the shortest cycling distances across America runs from San Diego, CA to St. Augustine, FL. Cycling 52 miles per day, it would take 60 days to make the 3,100 mile trip.  This most certainly is doable.  

Today’s Stats

Distance: 24.75 miles

Time: 1:46:44

Average Speed: 14 mph

Calories Burned: 590

Average Heart-rate: 116

Elevation Gain: 159 feet

http://app.strava.com/activities/12288362

JOHN U LLOYD BEACH STATE PARK BIKE RIDE

Arial View of the north end of John U Lloyd State Park

With the temperature soaring to 89 degrees during this morning’s bike ride, my 22^nd day in a row on the bike sure was a hot one. 

The wind was reportedly coming from the southeast at 4 mph, but that’s a little deceiving when riding along the Atlantic Ocean. We could safely double that wind-speed and come up with a more accurate wind measurement.

All riding this morning was done in John U Lloyd Beach State Park, a 2.3 mile stretch of beach sand, sea grapes and asphalt roadway. 

On the east side of the park is the Atlantic Ocean and on the west side is the Intracoastal Waterway. The park begins at Dania Beach on the south and ends at Port Everglades on the north.

http://www.floridastateparks.org/lloydbeach/default.cfm

The first 18 miles this morning, I rode with two of my marathon friends, both ladies who excel at both running and cycling. My wife, who also runs marathons, was absent because she had to work this morning.

From 18 miles to 31.14 miles, I rode by my lonesome. Well, not exactly. There must have been 75 to 100 other cyclists riding on the narrow road along with numerous runners and walkers doing their thing. One thing about South Florida, everywhere you look you’ll see hundreds of runners, walkers and cyclists. And you’ll see this year round, not just in the summer.

This morning’s 31+ miles puts me slightly over 200 cycling miles for the week, my longest to date.

This morning’s ride had an elevation gain of 200 feet and an elevation loss of 184 feet. I must still be on top of that one 4% incline/decline bridge.

Ride Stats
Miles:  31.14
Time:  2:06:20
Average Pace:  14.8 mph
Average Heart Rate:  121
Elevation Gain:  200 feet
Calories Burned:  792

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/194636862

http://app.strava.com/activities/12199194